And the verdict is...

NLD.

Those three letters are the official opinion of the neuropsychologist that we enlisted to help us figure out what is so very different about how little Spence's mind seems to work.

Nonverbal Learning Disorder.

In the 4 hours since hearing this professional opinion, here is what I understand. He can learn something when he hears it, but is very hampered if it is seen or by visual clues. This includes picking up on tone of voice, facial expression, body language, pictures. It's a processing problem that also hampers seeing "the big picture" of a situation or the organization/structure of your situation. It certainly fits. Rules of the Game, as outlined by his brothers in play, require a degree of structure he has trouble following... and when they get frustrated, he doesn't pick up on any of the non-verbal clues until they are yelling at him and kicking him out of the game. Tears follow, and complete confusion as to why he is, again, the victim of their mean behavior.

The good news? She said he tested out to have one of the highest memory scores she is ever seen, and he is very smart. His verbal learning is excellent.

Not sure whether I am happy or sad about all of this. It's something I know nothing about. No one wants their child to have "a disorder," but if it means I can now help him, then hallelujah!

Laundry math

So, as I stared at the mountain of laundry that was awaiting me today, I started wondering "How much laundry is there, really?"

Let's do the daily and weekly totals:

Socks: 12 (add 4 more given Omar and I are both working out daily) *7 = 112
Pants: 6 (plus 2 running shorts) *7 = 56
Shirts: 6 (plus 2) *7 = 56
Underwear: 6 *7 = 42
PJ bottoms: 4.2 (Omar and I don't need new PJ's daily...) *7 = 29.4
Assorted sweatshirts/jackets = 4 a week
Towels = 6 a week

Estimated number of items I wash, dry, fold and put away each week (barring any soccer games, spills, accidents or kids who just wanna put on a new outfit for no particularly good reason)?

305.4